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vi, 120 p. : 24 cm

This article is from Frontiers in Human Neuroscience , volume 8 . Abstract Many have written of the experience of mathematical beauty as being comparable to that derived from the greatest art. This makes it interesting to learn whether the experience of beauty derived from such a highly intellectual and abstract source as mathematics correlates with activity in the same part of the emotional brain as that derived from more sensory, perceptually based, sources. To determine this, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to image the activity in the brains of 15 mathematicians when they viewed mathematical formulae which they had individually rated as beautiful, indifferent or ugly. Results showed that the experience of mathematical beauty correlates parametrically with activity in the same part of the emotional brain, namely field A1 of the medial orbito-frontal cortex (mOFC), as the experience of beauty derived from other sources.

This project plans to investigate the influence of individual experience on grounded conceptual processing in the abstract domain. A sample of young, healthy adults with experience in mathematics, informatics or physics will process ambiguous abstract words with a mathematical vs. non-mathematical meaning targeted with sentential cues. Continuous measures of the participants’ experience with mathematical concepts will be used to test the hypothesis that individual experience affects how strongly mathematical vs. non-mathematical conceptual processing relies on an experience-specific magnitude-related brain network.

This project plans to investigate the influence of individual experience on grounded conceptual processing in the abstract domain. A sample of young, healthy adults with experience in mathematics, informatics or physics will process ambiguous abstract words with a mathematical vs. non-mathematical meaning targeted with sentential cues. Continuous measures of the participants’ experience with mathematical concepts will be used to test the hypothesis that individual experience affects how strongly mathematical vs. non-mathematical conceptual processing relies on an experience-specific magnitude-related brain network.

A study investigated the retention of mathematical and reading concepts of students enrolled in a learning-in-work environment (Experience-Based Career Education) and a traditional classroom learning environment on a measure of academic achievement using a twelve-month longitudinal design. The performance of twenty-seven students in each environment was evaluted using the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills, administered at the beginning and end of the junior year and at the beginning of the senior year. The learning interval was designated as the time between pre- and post-testing, and the retention interval as the time between post- and follow-up testing. The results indicated differences in both reading vs. math skills and in traditional vs. learning-in-work environments, with the greatest amount of fluctuation being in the math scores of the two groups. While the groups were equivalent at the beginning of the year, the students in the traditional environment increased their math performance by the end of the year, while the learning-in-work students' math scores decreased during the same time period. The groups subsequently reversed this direction of change over the summer, with the traditional students' math scores showing a decrease, while the learning-in-work students showed an increase in math scores. An interference/assimilation model is proposed to interpret the findings. (Author/MEK)

This correlation study examined the relationship between gender and the students' attitude and prior knowledge of using one of the mathematical software programs (MATLAB). Participants were selected from one community college, one state university and one private college. Students were volunteers from three Calculus I classrooms (one class from each school) in which MATLAB was used extensively. A survey regarding students' attitude and experience on using the MATLAB program was administered to classes. The findings of the study indicated that gender differences are not related to students' attitude and experience on the program. The results revealed slightly positive correlation between and students' attitude and experience on the program. The implications of this study shows that teachers who use MATLAB in their instruction and classroom practices must pay attention on how much students use it, the obstacles students had to overcome to succeed in its use, and their general issues and concerns regarding MATLAB use. (Contains 4 tables.)

In this paper, different schools of thought are discussed and compared to encourage lively classroom discussion and interest in mathematics for high achieving Form 12 students and first (or higher) year university students enrolled in a mathematics degree program. In particular the work and views of two mathematicians, Kurt Godel (1931) and Ian Stewart (1996), mathematician and professor Reuben Hersh (1998) and university lecturer, researcher and writer Robyn Arianrhod (2003) are used to illustrate different views of mathematics. Two documentaries are suggested for viewing by students: "Dangerous Knowledge," relating the work and place of Godel in the history and foundations of mathematics (Malone & Tanner, 2008), and "How Kevin Bacon Cured Cancer" (Jacques, 2008) which illustrates how mathematicians and scientists work together developing and applying mathematics. (Contains 1 table.)

In this paper, different schools of thought are discussed and compared to encourage lively classroom discussion and interest in mathematics for high achieving Form 12 students and first (or higher) year university students enrolled in a mathematics degree program. In particular the work and views of two mathematicians, Kurt Godel (1931) and Ian Stewart (1996), mathematician and professor Reuben Hersh (1998) and university lecturer, researcher and writer Robyn Arianrhod (2003) are used to illustrate different views of mathematics. Two documentaries are suggested for viewing by students: "Dangerous Knowledge," relating the work and place of Godel in the history and foundations of mathematics (Malone & Tanner, 2008), and "How Kevin Bacon Cured Cancer" (Jacques, 2008) which illustrates how mathematicians and scientists work together developing and applying mathematics. (Contains 1 table.)

In this paper, different schools of thought are discussed and compared to encourage lively classroom discussion and interest in mathematics for high achieving Form 12 students and first (or higher) year university students enrolled in a mathematics degree program. In particular the work and views of two mathematicians, Kurt Godel (1931) and Ian Stewart (1996), mathematician and professor Reuben Hersh (1998) and university lecturer, researcher and writer Robyn Arianrhod (2003) are used to illustrate different views of mathematics. Two documentaries are suggested for viewing by students: "Dangerous Knowledge," relating the work and place of Godel in the history and foundations of mathematics (Malone & Tanner, 2008), and "How Kevin Bacon Cured Cancer" (Jacques, 2008) which illustrates how mathematicians and scientists work together developing and applying mathematics. (Contains 1 table.)